Xavier Vigney vs. Maurice Jackson
This will be Vigney’s third GLORY outing. He scored a stoppage win on his GLORY 10 debut and he repeated the feat in his sophomore outing at GLORY 19 earlier this year. A regular sparring partner for Nick Diaz, the former De La Salle football standout has been marked out as one to watch in the heavyweight division.
Some detractors point out the manhandling he received from Zabit Samedov under the K-1 banner in 2012 but that fight doesn’t mean a lot to me; Samedov had nearly a hundred fights under his belt at that point and Vigney was brand-new to the professional ranks.
The record provided for Jackson has him at 31-0, though that does seem high for a heavyweight kickboxer who is relatively unknown on the international circuit. Possibly it includes his amateur record as well.
Either way, he is a K-1 veteran and an MMA fighter with Bellator time under his belt. He has good power and good hands. At 34 he is probably edging into the tail end of his professional career, though heavyweights often have a longer lifespan than their lighter-weight equivalents.
Generally people are picking Vigney as the favorite and I don’t disagree. He is younger and fresher and he has been active recently whereas Jackson has been struggling to find fights. They both have stopping power and with heavyweights a fight can end at any moment but the longer it goes the more Vigney gains the advantage.
If things pan out to a Vigney/Lewis-Parry final then it gets really interesting as there is some bad blood between them. They were matched for GLORY 20 before Vigney got moved to this card and Lewis-Parry has been baiting Vigney via the fight media ever since. With both of them being new blood in the heavyweight division it would be hard to make a call on a fight between them, but it would be safe to say that the fight would be unlikely to go the distance.
‘Chopper’ Chi Lewis vs. Demoreo Dennis
‘Chopper’ debuted with a 25-second knockout of the hapless Tae Kwon Do stylist Yongsu Park at GLORY 20 DUBAI. It was the third-fastest KO in GLORY history and instantly put Lewis-Parry on the map, although the South Korean was by no means a tough test relative to what the rest of the division is capable of offering.
Originally he was to face Everett ‘Wolverine’ Sims in this match but injury meant a late switch to Demoreo Dennis being the opponent. Sims was coming in as the underdog after being stopped by Xavier Vigney at GLORY 19 earlier this year in what was his professional kickboxing debut following a decent amateur run.
Dennis’ last kickboxing fight was a split-decision loss to Pat ‘HD’ Barry in January. Many felt the decision should have gone his way and the argument is certainly there. Dennis feels the same and was in no way demoralized by the decision. Instead it has given him confidence in fighting on big platforms.
The size and reach advantage go to Lewis-Perry here. That plus the fact he has had a full training camp gives him the edge and makes the fight and uphill struggle for Dennis.
Dave Walsh, Liverkick
“What is there to say about the tournament? I think that Demoreo Dennis being slotted into the place that Everett Sims held is great and that he deserved it in the first place, but that the story of the tournament is still Vigney and Chi Lewis Parry.
“I think that when push comes to shove Vigney takes it, but there is still so much we don’t know about Parry as a kickboxer.”
Michael ‘Stets’ Steczkowski, MMA Mania
“Let’s not pretend that we aren’t going to see a Xavier Vigney vs. Chi Lewis-Parry tournament final here. I think they both win their semi-final match-ups over Maurice Jackson and Demoreo Dennis by knockout, barring a freak injury.
“That will set up a fireworks final with the edge going to Vigney based on the level of competition he has faced. Lewis-Parry has looked great, but when we see him against Vigney is when we will truly know if he is for real.
“Not that Vigney is top of the food chain, but he will be first true test for “Chopper.” Both fighters are tall and both have a ton of power, it could be a real fun one to watch. I think Lewis-Parry is up for the challenge, but will lose a decision to Vigney.”
Andreas Georgiou, MMA Plus
“The tournament took a hit when Everett Sims dropped out, because Chi Lewis-Parry and Sims could of had a great fight.
“The whole premise sets up a Lewis-Parry vs. Xavier Vigney. Bad blood and two of the best prospects and heavyweight. I predict ‘Chopper’ advances to the contender tournament later this year.”
GLORY 21 SAN DIEGO airs this Friday live on Spike TV at 11pm ET/10pm CT
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